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July 1

"Race reversed" casting started in 1997?

According to Race-reversed casting, having actors play characters of a different color was invented in 1997. How is what Patric Steward did in 1997 different from other non-traditional color casting such as in The Wiz (which has the traditional white characters played by black actors)? RudolfRed (talk) 00:36, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

Although the original books had Dorothy and the other humans as white, there's nothing inherently racial in the story, so any casting can work. And casting of that type certainly was not "invented" in 1997. For example, Ed Ames, a Jew, played an Indian named Mingo in one of Fess Parker's TV series in the 1960s. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:24, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

And blackface acts go back almost 200 years. --76.71.5.208 (talk) 01:55, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

Boxing as a spectator sport goes back to the Stone Age, but like all history, only the 20th century matters. There once lived a mighty black king named Jack who terrified the general American so much, they joined hands, burned crosses and prayed for a Great White Hope. After much convolution, all was well enough by 1936, till suddenly a mean old Aryan baron named Max appeared to threaten the Jewish audience somewhat. And who did America bet the collective farm on but Joe Louis, who was miscast as "The Brown Bomber" before being popularly flipcast as the "Great Black Hope" 60 years later, one year before '97, by an obscure scribe called Bak (and earlier, cover date October/November 1978, in a magazine called American Heritage). InedibleHulk (talk) 03:22, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Patrick Stewart's innovation was to have all the characters in a work with an explicit racial theme played by actors of the "opposite" colour to that which was originally intended for that work. While it's possible that someone, somewhere had done this before, it presumably hadn't been done in any milieux that had been noticed by the general tradition of what one might call mainstream theatre. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.56.20 (talk) 06:32, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. RudolfRed (talk) 02:09, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Just so you know, there is major disruption happening on this page right now. It may need to be page-protected or monitored by an admin at the very least. Thanks. Maineartists (talk) 13:19, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Name of this radio background music

Does anyone know the name or source of the radio news background music that plays in this video from around 0:04 to 0:25? It wasn't made specifically for GTA San Andreas as I've heard this very song (not sure if the exact same version or a different one) played in a local news AM station before, which suggests it might be a famous or at least widely-used one. Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 02:00, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

Sounds like some generic music used on a news programme while the headlines are read out. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 19:43, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

Yup it sounds like a typical musical sting for any news program - still it was composed by somebody. I wonder if there as a website out there that has a library of that stuff. In days of yore a program like The Huntley–Brinkley Report would use a bit from the third movement of Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) but generic music seems to be the way to go today. It is a far cry from the glorious intro used at wonderful WINO :-) MarnetteD|Talk 20:14, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

This site has stuff for days. InedibleHulk (talk) 10:14, 3 July 2020 (UTC)

July 2

Background techno/tex/mex tune in youtube video

Hi all, retired Wikipedian here from years ago, and can't get this background tune out of my mind, appreciate any and all help, thanks! 2600:1702:690:F7A0:FD94:F77C:819:D8B7 (talk) 05:53, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Is your question about identifying the music, rather than getting rid of an earworm? In the first case, I think it is the song "How Do I Say This?" by Neon Beach (Aaron Sprinkle).  --Lambiam 19:26, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Much appreciation! And with a side of saucy too! Thank you for the research! 2600:1702:690:F7A0:4D13:213E:5CE:D117 (talk) 20:59, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

What happened to The Walking Dead

As mentioned before calls for debate. MarnetteD|Talk 15:25, 2 July 2020 (UTC)
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
The Walking Dead and also Fear The Walking Dead started out as such a very good shows, they were well written, well directed and well-acted. Following seasons four or five the writing, acting and dialogue took a drastic turn for the worse. What happened to create these changes? What happened that made these shows turn so bad? Towards season 10, it seems almost as if it is purposely made to be bad. What is the reason for this? Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.162.76.127 (talk) 10:01, 2 July 2020 (UTC) A well-known phenomenon for all sorts of shows that go on for multiple seasons (not commenting on those the OP cites specifically). TV Tropes has an article on seasonal rot. See also jumping the shark. Xuxl (talk) 12:58, 2 July 2020 (UTC) Well yes, obviously no show lasts forever, but this show has really done a 180. The dialogue is atrocious! The acting is porn star wooden. There must be a more valid explanation. Did they change director, or writer? I saw the trope that said the producer changed after season 1, but that doesn't account for the change in or around season 5. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.162.76.127 (talk) 14:28, 2 July 2020 (UTC) All of this is your personal opinion. You could probably find a hundred fans of the show who think it's gotten better, not worse. This kind of question is not suitable for this ref desk, take it to Reddit please. --Viennese Waltz 14:59, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

July 4

Any possible height estimate of Black Fortress

In the 1983 movie Krull, was there any given estimated size (by individual observation, production notes, etc) of the Black Fortress when it is flying around as a space ship, or at least when its planted on the surface? --72.234.12.37 (talk) 16:12, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Electric guitar playing sound

In the chorus of the Alice in Chains song "Rain When I Die" and this man's cover of Matchbox 20's "Bent", there is a distinct playing sound that I've never been able to properly describe, rather warm and wistful harmonics. The closest I've managed to come to describing for myself is "nostalgia chimes". Is there any proper term or description for this type of electric guitar sound? And how would these notes be produced? I imagine an amp is used, but my understanding of electric guitars is bad (Hell I don't know the term for the sound created by sliding one's hand across the neck's length) and I always assumed most amps, especially of the pedal variety, are used to either exaggerate certain notes or distort the guitar's sound when activated or tuned to do so, otherwise they just feed the guitar's sound though a speaker. --72.234.12.37 (talk) 16:31, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Basically, a chorus effect from an effects pedal (not an amp in itself, but closely connected) or possibly from a module built into the amp itself. Specifically, don't ask me which amp or pedal these are, though there should at least be a list in Dirt's liner notes to narrow that sound down. A pick slide is likely what you mean by the hand slide. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:47, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

Per the Jerry Cantrell article, he uses a Boss CE-3 and/or CH-1. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:03, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

Dirt uses multiple effect on his pedal, if you would provide us with a time stamp on when he starts to use the effect to which you refer, we may be able to narrow down the exact effect chosen. He uses a "wah-wah" at times as well as "standard metal distortion" and "reverb heavy" effects. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.162.76.127 (talk) 09:27, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

July 7

Question about the movie and tv industry

Has filming in movies and tv shows resumed in La or New York? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:8D80:406:AB36:FA01:99CB:1818:8C9D (talk) 02:39, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Why the specific distance for the marathon?

From 1896 to 1920, the organizers of each successive Olympic games chose not only the course for the marathon, but what distance the race would cover. After 1920 the distance that had been used in London in 1908 was made the standard and has been used ever since. But why did they pick that specific distance? The 1924 games weren't in London, and the distance wasn't a round number in either miles or kilometers. So what was the motivation for fixing on that particular standard? --174.89.49.204 (talk) 07:40, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

I am open to correction but I believe that the distance of a marathon is set by the distance between Marathon, Greece and Athens, Greece. As set out in the original Olympics of antiquity. 86.162.76.127 (talk) 08:27, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

That's only true in general terms. :There is a more specific explanation here. The distance was apparently decided at a meeting of the World Records Committee of the IAAF on May 27, 1921. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:28, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

I can't read that page. But as noted in the article the OP linked, the 1908 race happened to be 26 miles plus 385 yards, and that distance was set as the standard in 1921. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:07, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Here is the text mentioned above:

For the first marathon race in 1896 at the Olympic Games in Athens, a "runable course", about 40km long, was chosen, which led from the gates of Marathon to the stadium in Athens. As there was not an athletics regulations commission to set the norm until the founding of the IAAF in 1913 in Berlin, going forward, every event organiser determined the exact length of the marathon course according to the local conditions.

Due to the dominance of North American athletics, the length of most marathon courses was set at about 25 miles or 40km. In Boston, the oldest marathon, which was first held in April 1897 and every year since, the course was only 24 miles leading from Hopkinton to Boston.

The traditional 25 mile course served as a basis for the Olympic Marathon in 1908 in London. The announcement for bids read: "The 40km marathon race will take run on public streets, which will be marked by the Amateur Athletics Association, and will end on the stadium track, where the last 1/3 mile is to be run (1 lap = 536 metres).

The 1908 Olympic athletics competitions took place from July 13-25, 1908, in the "Great Stadium" in Shepherd's Bush, London. The Olympic Marathon took place in London on Friday, July 24, 1908.

For the first time, the course in London was precisely measured, and a detailed course map was published. The 1908 marathon course was measured backwards from the finish to the start, which had been set as the east terrace of Windsor Castle.

This starting point was chosen so that members of the Royal Family would be able to start off the marathon. The planned 25 miles from the entrance of the "Great Stadium" ended at Barnespool Bridge in Eton, and the distance from there to the start was one more mile, making the total course length 26-miles.

The marathon was then to end directly in front of the Royal Box in the London Olympic Stadium - meaning one complete stadium lap would not be possible, as had originally been called for. The distance from the entrance of the stadium to the Royal Box was 385 yards. This made the formula for the London marathon "25 miles + 1 mile + 385 yards; that makes 42.195km. The official report, however, falsely calculated the conversion, listing it as 42.263km.

To make it comparable, the rematch, which took place between Hayes and Pietri after the 1908 Olympic Games, was also run on a course based upon the London measurements of 42.195km = 26 miles, 385 yards. This then served as a quasi-standard for the marathon course, which some marathon organisers followed from then on.

With the founding of the IAAF in Berlin in 1913, a regulations commission was established, which was to create a draft for the athletics program for the IOC session in Lyon in 1914. In this draft, which was approved in 1914 at the second IAAF congress in Lyon, the marathon was set at 40.200 metres, or 25 miles. The IOC, however, decided at the Olympic Congress in 1914 in Lyon to set the distance at 42 km. According to the Greek IOC member Alexander Merkati, this was the correct course length (probably because this is the distance run at the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens).

Due to the local conditions at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, the marathon distance was extended to 42.750km. This new course length led to renewed discussions on the course distance, bringing it to the tables at the fourth IAAF Congress in Geneva in 1921.

On May 27, 1921, the competent IAAF organ, the World Records Committee, decided to set the distance of the Olympic marathon according to the London model: 42.195km = 26 miles, 385 yards!

Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:22, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

That 1908 marathon was where Dorando Pietri pushed himself to the limit on a hot day. That last 385 yards nearly did him in. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:56, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Just to correct a mistake by one of the earlier posters. The marathon was not run in the Olympic games of Antiquity. It was an event specially created for the first modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896, based on the story of the battle of Marathon. It was a great success and caught the public's imagination, and as a result was repeated at all future games (and duplicated elsewhere, like Boston), but the event was not standardized for some time, as explained in the paragraphs reproduced above. The marathon at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis was quite a fiasco, making the need for some standardization obvious (hence the efforts by London four years later to measure the distance properly and so forth). Xuxl (talk) 13:05, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Clint Eastwood

I am looking for a video that I have heard about but never seen. It involves Clint Eastwood lighting a cigarette; He supposedly flicks the cigarette and catches it with his mouth while simultaneously lighting a zippo lighter. It is supposed to prove that he is the coolest man in Hollywood. Any help would be appreciated as Google and Youtube searches have not been successful. Thanks 86.162.76.127 (talk) 13:05, 7 July 2020 (UTC)